Improvement in combined grain harvesters and binders



, be of any suitable style.

long enough to support two platforms, the f proper position, it hasrigidly attached to the v'end nextithe partition Ban arm, p, which profjects inward past the chain to which 'the' rake is secured; and on itsouter face this arm, at Fits end, is provided with anoutwardly-proljecting wrist, which [works in a groove, VIt',

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN' H. WHITNEY, 0E EocHEsTEE, MINNESOTA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMBINED GRAIN HARVESTERS IIgNuA BINDERs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l09,985, dated December6, 1870.

To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN H. WHITNEY, ofRochester, in the county of Olmsted and State of Minnesota, haveinvented certain Improvements in Uombined Reapers and inders, of whichthe following is a specifica tion, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

. My invention relates to that class of' ma- 5 chines denominatedcombined harvester and grain-binder; andthe invention consists in'animproved reel and rake, and in certain improved devices for compressingand binding the grain, all being arranged to operate in -unisonorautomatically, as hereinafter more In constructing my improvedmachine,Iy

make-a rigid'rectangular frame, A, upon the front end of which islocated the cutting apparatus, not shown in the drawings, as it may Thisframe is made front oneH, beinga little inclined, its rear v end being:higher than its front, while the rear platform I is level, anddepressed somewhat below the rear end of the front one, and beinglongest crosswise of lthe machine,- as representedfin Figs. 1 and 2, theinclination or line, of the front platform being indicated by kdottedllines in Fig. 1. -The frame -is also extendeda little to the left,alongside of thev front platform, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, to I afford4bearings for the driving-wheel 'C and the operating mechanism 5 therebeing also a bearing-wheel, D, attached at the lopposite side of theplatform., this wheel D being located `farther back'than wheel C, asshown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Alongside of' the front platform, on the side next to the driving-wheel,I locate a vertical partition, B, which serves to keep the grain fromthe mechanism, and also as a support and vguide for the reel andrake,`there being a side board also at the opposite side of the platformH, but less in height, this latter side. board having its front endprojecting forward of' the cutter-bar, to serve as a divider to separatethe grain to be cutfrom that to be lef't standing. n

The reel consists of `two endless chains, k, arranged near' the outervsides of `the front platform, vand mounted on four sprocketwheels, twoat the front, marked J', and two at the rear, marked l', the latterbeing secured to a shaft, J, which extends across above the rear end oflthe platform H, and the former wheels J being mounted on studs orjournals at ther front, as 'shown more clearly in Fig. 2, there beingconnected to these chains,

`at suitable intervals,crossbars l, to serve asj beaters to draw thestanding grain backward,

like an ordinary reel. The rake E is formed by attaching to one of thesecross-'bars a series of teeth, of' proper length to reach the platform,as shown in Fig. 3. The chains, of

course, must be so arranged as 'to have their lower portion parallelwith the'face of the platform H, and thus lcause the rake 'E lto sweepalong its face from front to rear, and thereby carry the grain back anddeliver it to the platform I, upon which it is subsequently gatheredinto a bundle andl bound. l

Inorder to guide the rake and hold it in formed on vthe inner faceof'the partition, as

represented in Fig. 1'0. The groove proper need not extend around theentire distance traveled bythe rake, but only'around its rear portion,whereit is so arranged as tohold the rake' -i`1 va verticaly position,onnearly so, and cause it to rise fromth'e platform in that vpositionu'ntil it has risen fai' Venough to leave 'the grain, after-which it mayswing over in a cir; cle. The balance of' the way a single strip or barmay besecured to the partition B, to serve as aguide'or rest for 'thewristof the arm of the rake to work upon, and thus keep the rake in.proper lposition, this bar or guide being so arranged'along the lowerside as to hold the rake vertical and 'keep it from tipping and slippingover the grain. This combined reel and rake is operated by a chain,11whichtition B, and is driven by another sprocket wheel, g, secured tothe inner end of the axle of the driving-wheel C, both wheels C and gbeing tight on the axle.'

The devices for gathering the grain into a lundle and binding it are alllocated on the rear part of the machine, and in their generalconstruction are similar to those contained in the machine described inan application heretofore lled by me. There are, however, certainimprovements in the construction and arrangement of the parts by whichthe operation of the mach-ine is greatly improved, and which I willproceed to describe.

A gatherer, G, is mounted on the rear platform I, to gather the graininto a bundleand deliverit to the binder, as shown in Figs. l and 2.This gatherer consists of a plate or frame, G, set vertically across therear platform, and attached rigidly to a tubular sleeve,l a5, whichslides to and fro on a rod, at, ar-A ranged across the'rear end of thehind plat' fori'n, as represented in Figs. 2 and 3. This gatherer G hasan opening cut in it, to permit it to pass by the wire-carrier as it is'brought to the opposite side of the platform, where the binding iseffected, the two 'parts of the cairier being supported by a frame-workin its rear, holding' them in their proper relative position. o Asrepresented in Fig. 1, there is a small door or piece, L, hinged on eachside of the opening in G, they beingV held shut by springs s '8, asrepresented in Fig. 2. As the opening is thus closed as the gatherermoves forward, the grain or straw is prevented from getting into it, andthus it is kept out of the way of the wire-carrierl C' as the'flatterdesce'nds to carry thewire 'down behind the buudlc to the twister. Thecarrier C descends in rear of these doors `Il after the gatherer hasinovid across the platform,and they permit the gatherer G to move backagain, while the carrhr C remains down, the doors L yielding as thegatherer presses them against the carrier C :in its backward movement.

v Upon the face of the gathererG I have arranged acompressor, whichconsists of a rod or s hait, m, which has one or more arms, j', turnedlupward, as shown in Figs. l and 2. Th"" shaft fm has its rear :endextending back he. rt ar end of the platformI, where it islnf` `videdwith a crank-arma, upon thelower e'nd'of which vis a'wrist that works ina groove, K/,""formed on the back side of the rear or end hoard of theplatform I, as shown in Fig. 3. The first part of this groove K is madeinclined, so thatfthe compressor-arm f, which stands upright atA thebeginning of its movement; will be turned down to a horizontal positionas the gatherer G moves forward, and carries the wrist of thecompressor-arm a up lthe incline, thus causing the compressor f to pressdown upon the grain in front of G, and hold it in a firm, compact bundleas the gatherer carries it across to the binder. erer G is moved atsuitable intervals by a pitnian, a4, which is connected at one end tothe sleeve a5, and at ,its other end to an arm, a3, which is secured tothe upper end ofa vertical shaft located at the front or inner rearcorner of the platform I, as shown in Figs. l and 2, this shaft beingoperated through the medium of bevel-gear a1 and a2 connected by ashaft, F, havinga stop-pinion, e, on its opposite end, and which engageswith the main driving-gear wheel c, this latter being, in turn',

Vsecured upon a shaft, E, which at its opposite end is connected bybevelpinions b and a toA :the axle of the driving-wheel C, from whichall the parts are operated, the arrangement of these driving-wheelsbeing shown in Figs. l and 2, as well as that of the stop-wheel i, whichoperates the wire-carrier R. These stopwheels c, c, and i, which iompartmotion to the' gatherer G and the wire-carrier R, as also that' whichoperates the twister, are of peculiar construction, in order to impartto these de' vices an intermittent motion at the required intervals; butas tlns stop-gear forms the subjectof a separate application it will notbevv herein further described.

The twister T, which, with the wirecarrier It, performs the binding, islocated under the left-hand edge of the rear platform I, and thewire-carrier It is located directly over it, asr

shown in Figs. l and 3, these parts, and theirl mode of operation,having been fully de` scribed in my'previous application. In thismachine, however, I intend to use but a single wire for binding, and ithas, therefore, become 4necessary to modify somewhat the constructer, byits descent, shoves it over to one side,

the spring throwing it back again as soon as the carrier is withdrawn.

-To the under' side of' this hinged plate N is secured a pin, t, Fig. 9,which projects down-V ward a short distance in front of the twister, andserves as al guide for the wire, lkeeping it pressed over to one side soas to insure its en tering the slot in the twister on the proper side ofthe central point or AInger therein, while the other end of the wireenters the other slot on the opposite side of the linger; it beingessential, in order to produce the requisite twist, that one end oftheband or wire should be in one slot and the other end in the'other slot,the iinger being between the two, the twister itself being constructedas The gathloaoss s described'in the previous application, hereinlbeforereferred to, and being operated by a bevel-pinion on the endof a shaft,l as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, motion being imparted to this shaft by astop-pinion, which engages with the driving-wheel c. t, a staple or eyemay be used, and may be tound preferable, as it will hold the wire moresecurely in place.

In order to hold the end of the wire after it is cut, and while the nextsheaf isbeing prepared and bound, I make use of a device represented inFigs. 7 and 8. This consists of a ratchet-wheeho, having teeth z,arranged as shown in Fig. 7, this wheel being journaled on the end of anarm, V, directly in rear of the twister T, and a little to one side, asshown in Figs. 5 and 6. A plate, u, secured to the frame, extends outalongside of this ratchet-wheel, and is bent around it and back on theopposite side, a short distance, as shown-in Fig. 6, thereby forming asupport for the wire on both sides of the teeth z of thewheel lv, sothat when the end of the wire is inserted in one of the slots of thetwister, and extends across the bent portion ofthe plate-u, the teeth ofthe wheel lv, as they are brought around .successively upon it, willclasp the wire and hold it tight betweenthe straight edge of the tooth zand the top of the plateu. Motion is imparted to this clasping-wheel -vby means of a pawl, w, which is pivoted t0 the side of the knife x,which severs the wire when twisted, the pawl 'w engaging in a reverseset of ratchet-teeth formed on the body or hub of 'the wheel fv, asshown by dotted lilies in Figs. 7 and 8. The manner of operating thisknife x and ratchet w is shown in Fig. 4, these parts all being arrangedunder therear platform I, as there represented. A lever, p', is pivotedat one end to the opposite side of the platform, its other end beingprovided with aroller, against which, at suitable intervals, .acam-projection, b', on the side of gear-wheel c, strikes, thus forcingthe free end of the lever p over to one side, a spring, n', serving todraw it back as soon as the cam has passed. To this lever p is pivoted arod, r', the opposite end of which is connected to a lever, t, pivotedat or near its center, and having its opposite end connected to theknife x. 1t will be seen that, by this arrangement of devices, the knife.or and pawl w are operated every time the projection b on wheel cstrikes the roller on the free end of lever p', which in this caseoccurs once at each revolution of the wheel c.

1t will. of course, be understoodthat the wheels will be so proportionedas to impart to allV these various devices the requisite movements atthe proper intervals, ,in order to bring them all into successiveoperation, all

the parts, except the reel and rake and the wheel c, having intermittentmovements.

From this description the operation of the Instead of the pin machine ispropelled, the grain is cut at its front and falls upon the platform H,the crossbars l of the reel serving to-draw the grain to the sickle andcausing it to fall over on the platform 'as it is cut. As the rake Itcomes around it sweeps the grain back along the i11- clined platform Hand .delivers it upon the platform I in front of the gatherer- Gr,whicl1` then commences to move, thereby gathering the grain up into abundle, the compressor f turning down upon top ofthe grain, and therebycompressing and holding it in a more compact form. As the gatherershoves the bundle or mass of grain over to the end of platform I, it isbrought against the wire, the lower end of which is held by theclamping-wheel o, the upper portion passing up through the eye ofthecarrier Q, which at this time is elevated. When the gatherer has reachedthe.

limit of its forward movement the carrier Q descends, carrying the wiredown on the rear side of the bundle, drawing it tight around the bundle,and delivering it to' the slot in the twister.l when the latterimmediately commences to rotate, thereby twisting the wire securelytogether and completing the binding of the bundle. As soon as this isdone the cam on the wheel operates the knife w, severing the wire,releasing the bundle, which then falls upon the ground, the wheel oatthe same time having secured the end of thewire again preparatory tobinding the next bundle, the carrier Q rising again as soon as this iscompleted, the gatherer having returned to the other end of the platformas soon asthe carrier had placed the wire in the twister, and by itsreturn having turned the compressor f up out of the way otl the grain,to be brought back by the rake at its next round. Y

By these means I am enabled to produce a very compact and perfectmachine that will both cut and bind the grain at one continuousoperation. By placing another spool under the platform I and arrangingit to have .its wire delivered to the twister, I can bind with two wiresalso; but the machine is more especially designed to use a single wire.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is 1. The rakeIt, provided with the arm p, arranged to work in the guide h extendimgvaround the rear end of the track of the rake, said guide being located,in relation to the wheels l', substantially as described, whereby therake is feathered and caused to rise vertically, or nearly so, until itis lifted clear of the grain, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with the gatherer G, the hinged plates L, arranged tooperate substantiall y as described.

3. The combination of the compressor f with the gatherer G, constructedand operat- 7. The combination ot the pivoted levers p and t, connectedby the rod 1", with the knife w, and pawl w, arranged to be operated bythe cam on Wheel c, substantially as described.

JOHN H. WHITNEY.

Witnesses:

PHIL. T. DODGE, W. C. DODGE.

